Types of mining and fracking
surface mining vs subsurface mining
surface mining: near the ground surface
subsurface mining: deep in the ground
surface mining
surface mining includes three types of mining ,removing soil and rocky minerals.
strip mining: excavate and uncover the material.
open pit: extracting minerals from the earth from an open pit.
mountaintop removal: remove from the summit of a mountain.
environment effects:
air pollution
soil erosion
habitat destruction
Subsurface mining
MIners create either a horizontal tunnel(adit) or a vertical tunnel(a shaft). Surface mining does not create the visible changes like surface mining does.
Less hazardous than surface mining. One problem is that underground mines sometime collapse.
FRACKING
- Fracking is the process of drilling and injecting fluid into the ground at a high pressure in order to fracture shale rocks to release natural gas inside.
- Up to 600 chemicals are used in fracking fluid, including known toxins such as mercury.
- Use tons of water.
- During this process, methane gas and toxic chemicals leach out from the system and contaminate nearby groundwater.
- Contaminated well water is used for drinking water for nearby cities and towns, causing health problems.